Forrest Gump (5 Stars)

This is a film that I expect all of my readers have seen. In 1994 it was nominated for 13 Oscars, of which it won six, including the Best Film award.

The film tells the story of a man who's mentally subnormal and wanders through life as if in a trance, hardly understanding what's happening around him. Through luck, rather than his own abilities, he becomes a multi-millionaire, but he gives most of it away because he has no need for money. All his life he's in love with Jenny, a girl he met on the bus on his first day at school. She likes him, but she doesn't love him. She's attracted to other man who hit her. She's a tragic figure.

How subnormal is Forrest Gump? It's claimed he has an IQ of 75. It's common for people with an IQ below 70 to be institutionalised, so he's a borderline case. His mother is told that a child with an IQ below 80 has to be educated in a special needs school, but she has sex with the junior school headmaster to persuade him to accept Forrest. His skill as a fast runner gets him a college football scholarship. In Vietnam he becomes a war hero. As a table tennis player he's unstoppable.

What's the message of the film? To be honest, I don't know. It shows that a person can succeed in life if he has a good heart, but I don't think that's what the director is trying to tell us. One unkind reviewer says that the film is an affirmation of white privilege, that anyone in America can succeed if he's a white male. I definitely don't think that was the director's intention. Maybe I should read a few more reviews to find the answer.

The film is based on a book with the same name, but from the brief synopsis I've read, it seems that the film deviates greatly from the book. In the book Forrest Gump is presented as autistic, with great mental abilities despite his low IQ. In the film he's merely intellectually subnormal. (I have trouble thinking of a way to describe his mental state politely).

It's been a long, long time since I watched this film. It was long before September 2010. I don't intend to wait so long to watch it again.

Success Rate:  + 10.4

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